


Amethyst: Welcome to my Insanity

by Storygirl000



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: F/M, I apologize in advance, Self-Insert, Series Retelling, Swearing, The OC is a bit sueish, Welcome to my Crush Hell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 21:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12118086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storygirl000/pseuds/Storygirl000
Summary: Amethyst "Amy" Williamson thought she was done with fighting aliens after she turned eleven. No such luck. Now, with an Omnitrix on her wrist and her friends by her side, she's ready to take on the DNAlien invasion and save the world. Again.Or, how the author finally earned a spot in Fictional Crush Hell after writing a story with a pseudo-Sue self insert in it.





	Amethyst: Welcome to my Insanity

**Author's Note:**

> Eeyup. Let me explain.
> 
> I've had a crush on the asskicking shapeshifter known as Ben Tennyson for a while now, and my sister is probably right when she says I'm obsessed with him.
> 
> Awhile ago, I created an OC for the fandom. Her basic story: she was forced to go on vacation with the Tennysons by her mom, since Max was an old family friend and she was probably going to spend the summer locked in her room on her computer anyways, with only occasional excursions to go to movies or whatever with her BFF Julie. (Yes, unlike most Sues, she does not push the canon love interest to the background; I like to think that Amy actually expanded Julie's role.)
> 
> As luck would have it, Azmuth made two Omnitrixes instead of one, and guess who got the scarlet-colored second one? That's right, Amy. And so she joined Ben in all the asskicking that went on that summer.
> 
> After she turned eleven (before Malware came along), she decided to retire as a hero and live a normal life. Yeah, no such luck, if this is any indication.
> 
> A few other things about her: Her first and favorite transformation is Frost Moth (who is of Big Chill's species). On the trip, she FaceTimed Julie everytime something exciting happened, which meant they chatted often and Julie got secondhand accounts of every adventure. Her name is sort of a family tradition. (Her mom is named Garnet, her grandmother is Pearl, etc.) And she really does not like Kevin 11 or Azmuth. She'll warm up to Kevin over the course of the series. Azmuth...not so much.
> 
> And finally, why am I skipping the original series? One, I'm more familiar with Alien Force. And two, shipping. I'll probably do an Original Series prequel, though.
> 
> And now, let's start this shit-fest! (I'll do my best to keep Amy under control...)

Ah, Bellwood. A peaceful town filled with mostly peaceful people.

At the local high school, a battle was taking place.

Okay, not so much a "battle" as a "game of soccer", but teenagers can get pretty competitive.

The score was two to one, in favor of the home team. There was less than half a second left. If the away team managed to score a goal, well...

Currently running down the field, clad in the red uniform of the away team, was a kid named Cash. He managed to dodge most of the home team's players on the way to the goal, but he soon found himself surrounded.

"Pass it to me! Pass it to me! C'mon, I'm open!"

Cash spotted his friend, a bespectacled kid named TJ, and kicked the ball towards him. TJ managed to get it, and he ran towards the goal, determination in his eyes.

Of course, in order to score, he'd have to get past the green-clad goalie first.

Said goalie smirked and narrowed his eyes at the kid running towards him.

Who was this kid, you ask? None other than Ben Tennyson.

Less than ten seconds left.

In the bleachers sat two girls who were paying rapt attention to the goalie. One had shoulderlength brown hair and eyes, and wore frameless glasses, a red turtleneck, light blue jeans with holes in the knees, and purple and pink sneakers. The other had short black hair and brown eyes, and wore a pink hoodie over a black shirt, a white skirt, black leggings, and white sneakers.

The brunette had her fists clenched out of anxiety. "C'mon, c'mon..." she muttered.

Back on the field, TJ, still running, reared back his leg and kicked towards the goal as hard as he could.

The ball went soaring, soaring towards the goal...and into a pair of grey-gloved hands.

Time ran out.

The crowd went wild, none more so than the brunette, who shot up and began yelling "YES YES _YES_!" at the top of her lungs. The black-haired girl rolled her eyes and settled for clapping and a smile.

The rest of the team ran towards Ben and hoisted him into the air. Ben, though surprised at first, smiled and held the game-deciding ball high into the air.

00000

Time passed, and the field emptied. Eventually, only Ben was left, and he was about to leave.

He unlocked his bike and stood up, then paused for a second to admire the "MVP" medal he'd gotten.

"That. Was. AMAZING!"

Ben looked up to see the girls from before standing across from him. He smiled.

"Hey, Amy. Hey, Julie," he responded, blushing slightly. "Really, it's nothing."

Julie smirked. "That didn't seem like nothing to me."

"Yeah, that was an awesome catch!" Amy said, grabbing Ben's hand in her excitement.

Julie noticed the visible blush on both of their faces and smirked. Then she took notice of the medal on Ben's neck. "Planning on showing that to Max?" she asked.

Ben nodded. "Yeah. Actually, I have to go now..."

Amy let go of his hand. "Oh. Sorry if we delayed you..."

"No, it's alright," Ben replied, getting on the bike. "Wanna hang out tomorrow?"

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Nice. See you then."

With that, Ben rode off, leaving a slightly flushed Amy and a mildly amused Julie behind.

"You realize that that would've been the perfect moment to confess your feelings?" Julie noted.

The blush on Amy's face deepened. "I can't tell him that!"

"And why not? Is it because you, and I quote, 'don't want to ruin your beautiful friendship'? Seriously, that's the oldest romance cliche in the book."

Amy glared at her. "Tell you what, my parents set up a ping pong table in the basement..."

Julie smirked. "Right then, let's head over there so I can beat your ass to the ground."

"Hah! You wish!"

00000

_15 one-sided games of ping pong later..._

Julie smirked, twirling the ball on her finger. "Ready to give up yet?"

Amy panted and glared. "I swear to God I'll beat you one day..."

"You're just too optimistic for your own good. Round sixteen, then?"

"Bring it!"

Before the girls could begin their sixteenth match, a phone started buzzing.

"Hang on..." Amy muttered, fishing her phone out of her pocket and reading the screen. "It's from Ben."

"What's it say?" Julie asked, intrigued.

Amy swiped the screen and read the text, looking a bit confused. "He's asking if I still have my Omnitrix."

Julie frowned. "Weird, why?"

"Hang on." With that, Amy dashed into a room adjacent to the family room.

The room was sparsely decorated. There was a bed with red sheets, a desk, a swivel chair, and a dresser. In the wall was a sliding door that seemed to lead to a closet.

Amy started searching under the bed, eventually coming up with a slightly dusty box. She opened it up just as Julie came in.

Inside the box was an odd grey-and-black watchlike device with a red hourglass faceplate.

Julie spotted it right away. "That's..."

"My Omnitrix? Yeah," Amy responded. She quickly typed out _"Still got it"_ on her phone before sending the message to Ben.

A minute passed before she got a response.

_Meet me at the dojo on Route 19 in ten minutes. Bring your Omnitrix._

"Isn't that where Gwen trains?" Julie asked.

"Yeah..." Amy trailed off. "Something's up. Why does he want me to bring my Omnitrix?"

Julie shrugged. "Can I come along?"

Amy stared at her. "Julie, if he's asking me to bring one of the most powerful weapons in the universe with me, there's a pretty great chance of danger."

"Well, I'm not missing out on a space romp after that summer you had. Count me in."

Amy sighed. "Fine. But if it gets too dangerous, I want you to go back home. Deal?"

"Deal."

00000

Nine minutes later, the two of them had ridden to the dojo by bike. They spotted Ben at the entrance and stopped there.

"Do you have your Omnitrix with you?" he asked.

"Whatever happened to saying hello?" Amy snarked. "But yes, I have it." She took it out of her pocket and showed it to him.

Ben nodded. "Good." Then he spotted Julie. "Um..."

"There's no way in Hell I'm missing out on this," Julie interrupted.

Ben sighed. "Fine. Follow me."

The three of them headed inside the dojo just in time to see a redhead teenager flip an older man onto the mat.

Amy smirked. "Classic Gwen."

Light applause was heard, and Ben, Amy, and Julie joined in.

Soon, the rest of the members of the dojo dispersed, leaving only the four of them. It was then that Gwen noticed the others.

"So how's my favorite cousin?" Ben asked.

Gwen smirked.

"Isn't she technically his only cousin?" Julie whispered to Amy as she ran up to Ben.

"Nah, she has a brother," Amy explained. "Problem is, he's both never around and extraordinarily bland."

"Ah."

"Compliments mean you want something," Gwen pointed out, jabbing Ben in the chest with her finger.

Ben got a serious look on his face. "I got a problem. I need some advice."

"Okay, as soon as I go change."

00000

It was night by the time Gwen got back from the changing room. Julie was the only one still awake at that point.

She noticed the door open and jabbed Amy, who was sleeping on the bleachers.

"Snrkt-zombie unicorns!" she exclaimed, rubbing her eyes. Julie just rolled her eyes.

"Well, that's attractive," Gwen noted, seeing that the now-awake Ben had been drooling in his sleep.

"What-I'm awake-what?" Ben yelped, standing up and wiping the drool.

"You needed help?" Gwen reminded him.

Ben sighed. "I need advice."

He held up a device similar to Amy's Omnitrix, except it was green on the faceplate.

Amy narrowed her eyes. "Ben, if the point of this meeting was to try and get me back in the hero business-"

"It wasn't!"

Ben then pulled out a small, disc-like device and held it up, pressing a button.

As the girls watched, a hologram popped up. It showed an elderly man wearing a Hawaiian shirt on it.

" _Hello, Ben._ " He began. " _I left this recording where I knew only you would find it. I'm in a bit of a situation, but it's nothing I can't handle. Certainly nothing for you to worry about. There's renewed alien activity on Earth. I'm investigating. Oh, and don't worry about the Omnitrixes, either. I have them, and they're completely safe. They'll never get their hands on them. Oh and say hello to your cousin Gwen and your friend Amy for me. Love you. Max out._ "

The recording shut off.

Gwen quickly pointed out the obvious. "Grandpa doesn't have the Omnitrixes. You guys do."

"Yeah, he's sending us some kind of message," Ben said, holding up his Omnitrix. "I think he wants us to put them on again."

Amy sighed. "Ben, I retired from the superhero life for a good reason. I don't want to go back to that. Not now."

"He always said it was your choice," Gwen reminded them. "You guys don't have to do it if you don't want to."

There was silence for a few seconds. Then Ben spoke up.

"I used to love the Omnitrix. It made me feel special."

Amy sighed. "I know. I felt that way too. But..."

"It wasn't the watches that were special. It was you guys."

"Yes, thank you Gwen."

Ben looked up at his cousin as she continued to speak.

"And you earned the chance to have a normal life. You put those things back on, and that's pretty much it for normal."

Amy looked at her Omnitrix again and thought for a bit, tuning the cousins out.

It was true that she'd experienced a more... _exciting_ life with her Omnitrix. After she'd taken it off, it had actually taken her a bit to adjust to a normal life again. And sometimes, she missed the excitement of fighting aliens and saving the planet.

But did she really want to put it back on again?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Julie's elbow jabbing her shoulder. "Hey! What-"

"We've got company," Julie hissed.

Sure enough, the door to the dojo had opened, and a shadowy silhoutte of someone was standing there.

"The Omnitrixes aren't yours!" he yelled at them in a deep voice. "Give them up!"

"Well, _shit_ ," Amy muttered.

Ben immediately took charge. "No way!"

And with that, the four of them bolted to a side door, the man in pursuit.

Once they got there, Ben attempted to open it, but it refused to budge.

"Give them to me. Now."

"Well, it was nice knowing you guys," Julie muttered.

"Or what?!" Ben yelled.

The man reached to grab his face, and with one tug, he managed to pull it off. Under what we presume was a mask was the head of a fishman in a glass bubble.

"Aliens. Of course it's aliens," Amy growled.

Ben scowled. "Oh, that's so creepy."

He tried to run to the side, but was stopped by a sudden laser blast.

"And he has a gun," Amy grumbled. "Fan- _fucking_ -tastic."

"Don't make me use it on you," Fish Man threatened.

Gwen quickly created a few glowing platforms for her to jump on, then ran up them and started shooting mana at Fish Man, blocking his attempts to shoot at her. Eventually, she blasted the gun out of his hand and grabbed him with more mana, leaving him unable to move.

Ben smiled. "You're getting really good at that stuff."

Gwen smiled back. "Thanks."

Amy walked up to Fish Man and glared at him. "Who sent you?! Give me the answer, or else!"

Fish Man glared back at her. "Or else what?"

"I dunno...I'll overfeed you?"

"Do I look like somebody to joke with? I'm a duly deputized agent of the Plumbers, an intergalactic law enforcement organization."

Ben glared at him. "We know what they are. My Grandpa Max used to be a Plumber."

Fish Man's eyes widened. "Max...Tennyson? He was helping me on a case when he went missing.

"We're looking for him," Gwen informed him.

"Wait...he's your grandfather? You're the legendary Ben Tennyson?" He turned to Amy. "And that must mean you're..."

"Amy Williamson, professional second favorite of the Galaxy's greatest genius?" Amy interrupted.

"...I was going to say 'his partner'."

Amy sighed in annoyance. "Of _course_ you were..."

Ben shrugged. "Yeah, that's me."

"I thought you were just some kid who snatched them from the Rust Bucket," Fish Man told him, awe evident in his voice. "Guess I owe you an apology. If you get me out of this thing, we can find your granddad together.

Ben nodded at Gwen, who proceeded to put Fish Man down, then looked at his Omnitrix again.

"Are you sure?" Gwen asked, clearly knowing what Ben as about to do.

Ben said nothing. He simply slipped the Omnitrix on his left wrist.

"I'm sure."

Julie turned to her best friend. "What about you?"

Amy pulled her Omnitrix out, looked at it, and sighed.

"Oh, what the hell."

And with that, she slipped it on her own left wrist.

00000

The scene shifted to a warehouse district. Ben, Gwen, Amy, Julie, and Fish Man were all on a roof, silently watching over it.

"So, what are we doing here?" Gwen asked.

"Stakeout," Fish Man responded. "According to a tip from your grandfather, the Forever Knights, a group of criminals who-"

"Trade in alien technology? Yeah, I know," Ben and Amy both said. When they realized that they'd said the same thing, they both blushed and turned away from each other.

Julie pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Ridiculous." To Fish Man she said "Yeah, they've dealt with them before."

Fish Man nodded. "They're supposed to show up here tonight, to receive a shipment of illegal alien tech."

"Where do they get it from?" Gwen asked.

Fish Man shrugged. "Don't know. Max was going to tell me, but then he disappeared."

The sounds of a vehicle could be heard. "Someone's coming."

As the team watched, a pair of trucks-one red, one tan-parked right in front of each other. Then a black-and-green-striped car parked next to the red one.

The door opened, and the driver got out. He was a young man, about Ben's age if not older. He had long black hair and wore clothes of mostly that color.

As soon as Amy saw him, she hissed. " _Levin_."

"You know him?" Fish Man asked.

Ben nodded. "Yeah, Kevin Levin. He's got superpowers. We fought him all the time when we were kids."

"He ended up trapped in the Null Void," Gwen explained. "Kind of an extradimensional jail."

As they watched, a group of people came out of the trucks. The ones who came out of the red one were dressed in red cloaks, while those who came out of the tan one were dressed normally.

A red-cloaked man walked up to Kevin and gave him a briefcase. Kevin looked in the briefcase and smiled before calling to his team "Money's here."

With that, one of the men at the tan truck started unloading it.

"He's brokering the deal," Fish Man realized.

Amy rolled her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. If it's illegal, you can count on that asshole to have a hand in it."

The man brought the boxes over to Kevin and the red cloaked man. Kevin smiled and opened the box, revealing a high-tech weapon of some kind.

He turned back to the red-cloaked man. "As promised, four dozen factory-new laser lances. Aether-point energy module, antenna-focus emitter...it's good for 35 minutes of continuous fire at point-six terawatts. Is that good?"

He promptly demonstrated by blowing up an oil drum.

"You tell me."

Julie frowned. "I'd tell him it's good, but I don't speak techno-geek."

Fish Man was mad. "Those lances are level five technology! Planet Earth has only level two!"

"Hey, what happened to the whisper?" Ben complained.

With that, Fish Man went off to arrest those punks, the rest of the team following after him.

"Hands above your heads, air-breathers! By authority of the Plumbers, you're all busted!" Fish Man bellowed.

"Wow, racist much?" Amy muttered under her breath.

Everyone stopped to stare at them.

Then everyone who wasn't either wearing cloaks or Kevin took off their faces, revealing a bunch of single-eyes, exposed-brain aliens with tentacles.

Amy winced. "Okay, that's gross."

"Oh, that's so creepy," Gwen moaned.

"Isn't it?" Ben replied.

They started backing away from the advancing aliens. "Back off!" Fish Man yelled, before using his laser to create a fire between them and the aliens, who shyed away from the heat.

"What now?" Ben asked.

"Stand off," Fish Man replied.

Julie gulped. "Yeah, no. Not when the other guys are behind us."

Everyone turned to see a bunch of Forever Knights behind them.

"We. Are. Toast," Gwen said.

Both Ben and Amy glared and activated their Omnitrixes. "No, we're not. IT'S HERO TIME!"

They slammed down...only to be met with electronic beeping noises and flashing blue faceplates.

"Okay, this isn't supposed to happen," Amy noted, fiddling with the dial.

"Ben! Amy!" Gwen whined.

"Watch!" both of them replied. Then they turned to each other and blushed. Again.

Julie facepalmed. "Not the time, guys."

"Ben, Amy, seriously!" Gwen yelled, facing the advancing Forever Knights.

"This is a really bad time for a reboot," Ben groaned, continuing to fiddle with his Omnitrix.

"We got nothing!" Amy yelped.

"Maybe I do," Gwen replied, her hands glowing pink.

With that, she started shooting at the Forever Knights, while Fish Man shot at the aliens to keep them at bay.

Julie, meanwhile, was backing up from the carnage.

"Way in over my head here..." she muttered.

Then she felt herself bump into something. She turned around to see what it was–and found a rather angry Kevin Levin behind her.

"Fuck," she groaned. "Listen, I only came along because of the promise of adventure, and had no intention of busting up a black market ring. Between that and the fact that the only skills at my disposal aren't related to fighting, would you mind just letting me run off into the night unscathed?"

Kevin cracked his knuckles. "Yyyeah, no."

"Of course not..."

Back with the other three, Gwen was shielding herself and Fish Man from the Forever Knights' shiny new toys; however, a well-aimed blast destroyed the shield she'd constructed, forcing her to form a new one.

And then Fish Man, Ben, and Amy were ambushed by an alien.

The latter two quickly started running, the alien in hot pursuit. Both of them went back to fiddling with their Omnitrixes along the way. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

Another alien started shooting goo at Fish Man, soon being led by more aliens doing the same. In the span of a minute, Fish Man was covered in goo.

The alien chasing Ben and Amy started doing the same, but they were quick to dodge it. Soon, they found themselves hiding behind a bunch of iron bars.

The alien quickly went for them–only for the bars to topple on top of it, leaving it trapped. The two of them smiled and high-fived before going back to work on their Omnitrixes.

Back with Kevin and Julie, the latter had mostly adopted a strategy of dodging every punch thrown her way by the former.

"You know," Julie said, ducking a fist, "I only ever got to hear about you from a friend. How would you describe yourself?"

Kevin shrugged. "Semi-professional asshole."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. You know, maybe if you hadn't gone batshit insane, you guys could've been friends."

"Yeah, maybe. Hold still!"

Julie sidestepped another punch. "Let me think about that...no."

Meanwhile, Fish Man was still trapped in goo, while Gwen, after losing yet another shield, went on offensive and blasted the Forever Knights with mana. She attempted to go in for the kill, only to be caught by more goo-shooting aliens.

Back with Ben and Amy, they were still working on their Omnitrixes. Suddenly, both of them started beeping rapidly.

"What the..?" Amy muttered, just as her Omnitrix flashed with a red-and-black circuit pattern before turning into...something new.

It was sleeker, with a thinner, now red strap. The faceplate remained pretty much the same. Amy looked over at Ben, and realized that his had transformed in the same way.

"Guess we finally got them updated," Ben noted. "They've never done this before."

The two of them twisted the faceplates, only for a holographic image of an alien to pop up on each one.

Amy smiled. " _Cool_."

They started shifting through the aliens, only to realize something.

"I don't recognize any of these guys!" Ben noted.

"Yeah what happened to Frost Moth?" Amy whined. "I loved Frost Moth!"

Ben finally stopped on an alien and shrugged. "Oh well, beggars can't be choosers."

Amy sighed as she stopped on one as well. "Yeah, I guess you're right..."

And with that, both of them slammed down.

Cue epic transformation sequence.

Once the glowing lights died down, both of them had changed.

Ben was taller, than before, and had a green, plantlike body with a few spikes jutting out. His face was colored entirely black except for the green eyes, and his hair resembled flames. On his chest was his Omnitrix symbol.

Amy, meanwhile, now resmebled a blue lizard-fish creature with spines jutting down the black shell on its back. Her arms and legs were black, with blue fingers and toes. On her face were a pair of black stripes going down from her now solid-brown eyes. Her mouth was filled with fangs, and her Omnitrix symbol was also on her chest.

"SWAMPFIRE!" Ben yelled.

"POLARZARD!" Amy yelled. "Wait a second..."

She sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"

Swampfire sniffed, too. "I think that might be me. Sorry."

"No need to apologize! Weird alien biology and all that!" She looked down at herself. "Speaking of weird..."

"I think you actually look pretty cool," Swapfire admitted.

Polarzard gave a shy smile. "Really?"

"Really. Now c'mon, let's go kick some ass!"

00000

Back with Gwen and Fish Man, things were not looking great, considering they were still trapped and surrounded by aliens

Swampfire and Polarzard ran up to them. "Get away from my friends!" Swampfire growled.

Polarzard nodded. "Unless you want to see your world end in both fire _and_ ice."

Aliens started running towards them, but they were dispatched with a few good punches and kicks. The rest ran back to the truck and attempted to drive off; however, Swampfire knocked it over before they could.

"Are you guys okay?" Polarzard asked.

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, we're fine. Hang on, has anyone seen–"

She was interrupted by the sound of laser fire.

"BEN!" Polarzard yelled, running to where Ben was being fired at by Forever Knights.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ben reassured her. "It actually kind of tickles."

As he said this, a lucky blast chopped his arm off.

As the others watched in horror, the arm started to grow a vine, which then attached to Swampfire's now armless stub. The arm then proceeded to reattach itself.

Polarzard glared at the Knights. "Okay, healing factor or not, you guys are dead!" she yelled.

Swampfire nodded. "I'm gonna have to agree with her."

They ran up to the Forever Knights and took down the ones that didn't start running.

Polarzard sighed. "Now where's–"

"HEY!"

The two of them turned to the source of the noise, and saw Julie bolting towards them at top speed, Kevin in pursuit. "Thanks for leaving me with the psychopath, assholes!" she yelled.

Kevin spotted the two of them and smirked. "Hey Tennyson, Williamson!"

" _Levin_ ," Polarzard hissed.

"What do _you_ want?" Swampfire growled.

"Let's see...you trapped me in the Null Void for all those years..."

"You did that to yourself!"

"And you ruined my deal today. I'm thinking I want revenge."

With that, Kevin knelt down to touch a metal bar. Suddenly, a metal coating crept up over his arms, engulfing his body.

"The good news is, since I can absorb anything, I've got more than enough power to take it."

Polarzard stepped back. "That's... _new_."

And then Kevin punched a hole clean through Swampfire. Except thanks to his regenerative powers, said fist got stuck.

Kevin struggled to pull it out, but Swampfire quickly clapped his hands together, slamming them on the sides of Kevin's head. He then kicked him into the air and launched him into the side of a large crate.

As this was going on, the Forever Knights loaded the laser lances into their truck and drove off, while a couple of remaining aliens made of with the briefcase full of money.

Kevin took no notice of the aliens making off with his money and instead threw the crate at Swampfire, successfully squishing him.

"BEN!" Polarzard yelled.

"And that's what happens when you mess with me!" Kevin declared, smirking.

He did not anticipate the blow to the face, to say the least.

As he dropped to the ground, Polarzard scowled. "And that's what happens when you mess with _either_ of us."

Kevin scowled, stood up, and got into a fighting stance, but he failed to notice the vine growing behind him.

Not until it turned into Swampfire, at least.

"Hey, what?!" he yelped.

Swampfire grinned menacingly. "Peekaboo!"

He then proceeded to punch Kevin in the face.

Kevin staggered backwards before rubbing his face, scowling, and grabbing a bigger crate to throw at the two of them.

Polarzard smirked. "Guess he's just a one-trick pony. Ben?"

Swampfire smirked right back and proceeded to light his hands on fire, before using said fire to blow up the crate.

Kevin staggered back again, but quickly recovered and started to head towards the two of them.

"Yeah, let's end this here," Polarzard decided.

She took in a deep breath and blew as hard as she could.

Freezing winds emerged from her mouth, blowing towards Kevin and encasing him in ice in a way that left him unable to use his arms. He fell over, the metal casing finally leaving his body.

He blacked out.

00000

When Kevin came to, he saw Swampfire, Polarzard, Gwen, Fish Man, and Julie standing over him.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Swampfire and Polarzard were Ben and Amy once again.

He tried to stand up, only to find his hands encased in some sort of pair of handcuffs. His clothes felt a bit wet, too, and he realized he'd been laying in a puddle.

"Yeah, Ben melted off the ice so that Fish Man here could get these cuffs on you," Julie explained.

Fish Man glared at her. "First of all, my name is Magister Labrid. Second," he turned to Kevin, "Those are energy cuffs. You can't escape. There ain't nothing there to absorb."

Kevin glared at him. "You realize I could absorb the energy and use it to attack you right?"

"Then why don't you do it right now? I wouldn't mind kicking your ass again," Amy taunted.

Kevin glared at her and looked away.

Ben looked over at Gwen. "You've still got some of that stuff in your hair."

Gwen frowned and checked her hair.

"Other side," Kevin told her.

Gwen checked the other side, and managed to find the gunk. "Eeeeewwww."

Labrid glared at Kevin and held up a laser lance. "Time we had a talk, tough guy. These weapons run on aether-point energy cells, a dangerous technology way too advanced for humans. They shouldn't even be on this planet."

"So?" Kevin asked. "How is that my problem?"

"While we were fighting, the Forever Knights got away with a crate full of them," Ben told him.

"And seeing as you set up the deal, you're going to have to tell us where there are," Amy hissed, glaring at Kevin. "Or did you murder the informant before he could tell you?"

Kevin glared at her. "I haven't attempted murder in years, _bitch_."

Gwen walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Kevin, people could get hurt."

Kevin looked at her. His face softened. Julie quickly took notice of this and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"You're in a lot of trouble, son," Labrid growled. "I'm giving you a chance to help yourself here."

Kevin smirked and stood up. "You don't have to convince me. Those guys ran off before I got paid. I'm happy to help find those deadbeats."

Julie scratched her chin in thought.

"Oh, so the asshole is finally acting nice," Amy growled. "Listen, Levin. If you attempt to betray us at any point, I _will_ knock your ass into next year. Got it?"

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Got it. I'll drive."

"You coming with us, Julie?" Gwen asked.

Julie shook her head. "Nah, I think I've had enough excitement for one night. Although, I would like to ask Kevin something. Privately, if you don't mind."

Gwen nodded. "Go ahead."

As th others walked over to Kevin's car, Julie turned to him, a smirk on her face. "So are you helping because of the good in your heart, the money in your briefcase..."

She pointed at the lower quadrants of Kevin's body.

"...or the raging stick in your pants?"

Kevin blushed and hissed. "Do you mind?!"

"Look, I'm already trying to get Ben and Amy through the jungles of sexual tension, so I'll try not to interfere with your own love life. However, if you do plan on pursuing Gwen, I'd like to remind you of the main obstacle in your way."

She pointed at Amy, who was still glaring at Kevin.

"Good luck."

00000

One scene shift later, and the team (minus Julie, plus Kevin) was now barreling down the highway in Kevin's car.

"I still think I should drive," Labrid grumbled. He sat in the back, with Amy wedged between him and Ben.

Kevin glared at him. "Nobody drives the car but me!"

Gwen, hoping to avoid a fight, turned to Labrid. "You were telling us about the aliens?"

"I don't know anything about the ones we fought today," Labrid explained. "I never met that kind before."

Ben and Amy, meanwhile, were scrolling through the new selection their Omnitrixes had.

"We can't find them in these," Amy explained, taking note of what aliens she now had.

"Not that we know how to work these things anymore," Ben groaned.

Kevin smirked. "Maybe after you get your liscenses, pee-wees."

Amy glared at him. "Who won our fight again? Oh, I remember! The two of us!"

"There's been a lot of alien activity on Earth lately," Labrid explained. "Don't know why. Your grandfather thought maybe the weapons deal would lead us to whatever's causing all the interest. Now he's missing."

"Knowing Grandpa Max, he's probably at a restaurant enjoying a roasted cockroach salad." Gwen sighed. "It's a wonder that all that weird food didn't kill him."

"HE'S NOT DEAD! STOP MAKING JOKES ABOUT HIM!"

The car swerved to a stop, and Amy grabbed on to Ben's arm. "Ben, calm down! She wasn't saying that he's dead!"

Kevin glared at him. "Don't talk to her like that."

"I'LL TALK TO HER ANYWAY I–"

Ben froze, realizing what he'd said, and looked down. "You're right. I'm sorry, Gwen."

Gwen turned to look at him. "I know you're worried about Grandpa."

"I just wish he were here. He would know what to do. He always knows what to do."

Labrid turned to him. "Well he ain't. You're the one with an Omnitrix, you're going to have to figure out how to get things done on your own."

Amy sighed and squeezed Ben's hand. "I promise I'll do my best to help you find him, Ben."

Ben gave a sad smile. "Thanks, Amy."

And with that, Kevin started the car up again, and they continued driving.

00000

Eventually, they came to a building that looked quite similar to a castle.

"This is it," Kevin told them.

Amy snorted. "Typical Forever Knights. Always a castle."

Ben grinned. "Subtle. Nobody would think to look for knights in here."

"You didn't," Kevin pointed out.

Amy glared at him.

"How do we get in?" Labrid asked.

Ben smirked. "Gwen?"

The team got out of the car, and Gwen's hands started glowing pink. She conjured up some mana ropes and used them to pull down the drawbridge at the gate.

And so, they headed in, Gwen using her mana to light the way.

The interior was dark, though it seemed very much like a castle, with suits of armor and medieval relics found all over the place.

"There's no one here," Gwen pointed out. "You sure this is the right place?"

"There's a hidden door," Kevin told them. "Keep looking."

"And we should trust you why?" Amy questioned.

"Because I'm your only hope of navigating this place right now."

Amy glared at him and started searching. Kevin meanwhile, started taking a few valubles and putting them in his pocket.

Ben gave him a disapproving look. "Maybe you should've brought a shopping cart."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Just keep searching."

A few minutes in a dark and spooky castle is enough to creep anyone out, it should be noted. That's why, a few minutes into the search, Ben was starting to get nervous.

"I don't like the looks of this," he said, eyeing the various suits of armor and backing away from them.

And, of course, in doing this, he bumped into yet another suit of armor. Which then proceeded to fall on towards him, sharp sword and all.

"BEN!" Amy yelped.

Fortunately, Ben got out of the way in time, and the armor fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

Kevin glared at him. "Come on man, what are you doing?!"

"Sorry," Ben replied. "Guess I'm just a little..."

A low growling was heard behind Ben. Amy, Gwen Kevin, and Labrid all stared behind him in shock.

Ben frowned and turn around, only to see a HUGE MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON behind him.

"...PARANOID!"

The dragon growled some more.

**Author's Note:**

> To Be Continued...


End file.
